Man who groped 13-year-old girl on flight pleads guilty

Updated January 19, 2017 at 3:56 PM;Posted January 19, 2017 at 11:13 AM

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Chad Cameron Camp, 26, on Thursday pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit abusive sexual contact of a minor and indecent sexual exposure to a minor within an aircraft in U.S. District Court in Portland. He'll be sentenced on May 3 at 11:30 a.m. (Dave Killen|Staff)

Chad Cameron Camp, accused of groping a 13-year-old girl aboard a flight from Dallas to Portland in June, pleaded guilty Thursday to assault with intent to commit abusive sexual contact and indecent sexual proposal to a minor.

Under the negotiated agreement, Camp, 26, is expected to remain in custody until his sentencing May 3 and then will be eligible for inpatient treatment followed by supervised release and probation, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Edmonds.

Before he boarded the June 16 flight, he said he drank a large amount of alcohol. Once on the flight, he said he sat next to a young girl. She was flying alone.

"I invaded her space, touching her in her thigh and her groin area. I had inappropriate conversations with her. My words were fairly considered to be indecent sexual exposure,'' Camp said. "What I did was wrong in all respects and I take full responsibility and am ready to face all consequences for my conduct.''

His time in custody since his arrest -- about 11 months by the time he's sentenced -- is expected to count toward a 14-month sentence that would include residential alcohol and drug treatment, Edmonds said. The prosecutor also will recommend that Camp be evaluated for sex offender treatment.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman has discretion to alter the sentence.

Camp, who is from the Gresham area, had downed four to five mixed drinks before boarding the plane. He suffers from a serious alcohol dependency and opioid addiction and was headed back to Oregon after having just finished a residential treatment program for alcohol dependency in Florida, Edmonds has said.

The girl's family has filed a $10 million lawsuit against American Airlines, saying the flight crew allowed the abuse to last for 30 minutes without intervention and didn't move Camp or offer the girl the opportunity to move despite about half of the plane's seats being empty.

The victim approves of the plea arrangement, said attorney Amanda Marshall, who is representing her in the civil suit.